Last Updated on April 12, 2024
Foul smell and noise from your cooling system are indications that something is wrong. Carbon monoxide leaking from your heater can pose serious bodily harm and at most death.
Sometimes your basic 101 maintenance skills of tightening screws or parts of your AC unit will remove those headaches and so does cleaning and replacing air filters. Often it goes beyond simple and if not remedied properly, it becomes a major expense to the extent of replacing your AC system.
If things seem off get in touch with your Las Vegas electricians, it is the best way of avoiding something bad from happening.
Table of Contents
Kinds of Filters
Most homeowners buy a replacement filter that’s easy on the pocket and fits the duct. It doesn’t work that way an inefficient, ill-fitting filter raises your electric bill and poor air quality in your indoor.
The filter that fits your home is the one that traps the most number of particles and allows your HVAC to run in top form. You need to experiment to find the right filter for your HVAC.
Disposable Pleated filter
Also called accordion filter, made of folded sheets of cotton or polyester fabric. Works well on environments with a high level of dust. Look for more pleats for better airflow and a MERV rating of 6 to 8. It catches more pollutants and won’t overwork your HVAC system.
Smart filter
You are too preoccupied and forgot to change the AC filter. A dirty air filter will stop your AC from cooling and will cause a severe mechanical problem and unscheduled expense in an AC repair. Also, there will be poor air quality inside the house.
A smart filter has you covered, it has a sensor in the filter that is connected to a Filtrette Smart app to monitor airflow and inform you when to swap filters.
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter
In terms of efficiency HEPA filters leads the way from the rest. They are industrial grade and are used in commercial facilities to catch smoke and other minute particulates. They pass the U.S. Department of Energy Standard filtering out 99.7% of all particulates with at least 0.3 microns in size. HEPA filters remove human blood cells at 5 microns and bacteria are from 0.2 to 4 microns.
Washable filters
Washable filters are made enclosed in aluminum, cased in aluminum mesh and built of washable materials. They last from 3 to 5 years, wash them every three months to maximize their efficiency. These filters have 97% efficiency trapping particulates of 0.01 micron.
What do AC Noises Mean?
If you hear mysterious noises from your AC don’t ignore these, inaction might turn minor problems into major expenses. It could mean anything from a simple tune-up to a replacement of your unit. It would be best to determine the cause of the noise and remedy it rather than later. You might encounter these noises here is what they mean.
Banging
Banging signifies a loose or damaged part. It could be from a loose connecting rod, piston pin or crankshaft some fine-tuning will do the trick. Or your broken compressor needs a replacement.
Clanking
Clanking is a signal that a part is wobbly or off-balance. Your compressor is loose, a replacement will solve the problem. The blades of the indoor blower or outdoor fan are hitting other fan it might be loose some tightening will fix the issue.
Clicking
It is normal to hear the clicking of electrical components when turning the AC on or off, but hearing it constantly when the AC is on is not typical. This could be an indication of a faulty control or a defective thermostat.
Rattling
A rattling noise may come from twigs or debris that clogged your unit or a defective electrical contractor or the fan is loose. Check for loose screws, in the casing, clean condenser coils and replace the filter.
Smell Coming out from the AC Unit
You want to cool in your home on a hot day, but when you turn on your AC system foul odor comes out. There are issues at play depending on the smell that is emitted, here are some of them.
The smell of stinky socks
You are dealing with a clogged unit the odor comes from still water that is not drained and begins to smell.
Smells like burnt gun powder
The scent that smells like burnt gun powder comes from the shorted out fan motor or circuit
board. You should be attentive and opt to fire damage specialist if needed.
Smells like rotten eggs
The horrible of rotten eggs that circulate in your house is often a dead animal that is trapped in your system and begin to decay.
Smells like mildew
Chances are that there is moisture inside the unit that was not drained there is mold growth in this area which gives off the scent of mildew and so does dirty filters.
The Right Time to Change the AC Air Filter
If you will follow the instructions on the packaging it says to replace your filter once a month. A typical filter has a MERV rating of 6 to 8 which strikes a balance between good air quality and good airflow.
With a good filter on hand, change it every three weeks if you have pets, you live in a polluted area or have allergies.
If you use your AC occasionally you can wait up to six months for a filter change.
The simplest way is to check your filter every week, hold it against the light, if the light does not pass through it’s time to change your filter.
